What worries you most about the Patriots?

<strong>By Gary Dzen/Boston.com Staff</strong><br>The Patriots are under .500 for the first time since the 2003 season, falling to 1-2 after a 31-30 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night. The subpar officiating in the game was a major story line, but the Patriots have other things to worry about that are totally in their control. From the coaching to the play on the field, the Patriots need to improve if they want to repeat last year's run to the Super Bowl. Take a look at the team's biggest concerns and tell us what worries you the most.
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Globe Staff Photo/Jim Davis

<strong>Offensive play-calling</strong>
Tom Brady threw for more than 5,000 yards last season, becoming just the fifth quarterback in history to reach the mark. In other words, he's pretty good at throwing the ball. So it comes as somewhat of a surprise that the Patriots would go away from their bread and butter. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels inserted several trick plays into his scheme; a second-quarter reverse led to a 13-yard loss and forced the Patriots to punt. The Pariots ran a similarly questionable halfback throwback to the quarterback that lost 9 yards in Week 2.
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AP

<strong>Pressuring the quarterback</strong>
Patriots fans were encouraged during the first two weeks when rookies Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower were able to pressure quarterbacks Jake Locker and Kevin Kolb. It was a new wrinkle for the Patriots, one that they took steps to address in the offseason by drafting Jones and Hightower in the first round of the draft. Then came Sunday. The Patriots had no sacks and no hits --zero—on Joe Flacco.
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<strong>Passing defense</strong>
Joe Flacco threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns against a porous Patriots secondary. This is not a new problem. The Patriots were near the bottom of the league in passing defense last season, and it doesn't look like they've fixed that area despite focusing on it in the draft. Come to think of it, New England didn't do a very good job stopping Baltimore's running game, either. Ray Rice rushed for 101 yards on 20 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per carry.
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Globe Staff Photo/Jim Davis

<strong>Devin McCourty's play</strong>
One more point on the defense and then we'll move on. McCourty, a former first-round pick, had two chances to haul down interceptions Sunday night and missed out on both. On one play, Flacco put up a ball that McCourty should have handled easily. A late pass-interference call, which McCourty never disputed, set the Ravens up for the game-winning field goal.
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<strong>The running game</strong>
Stevan Ridley seemed to establish himself as New England's No. 1 running back during the first two weeks of the season, but the Patriots went away from Ridley against the Ravens, giving him 13 carries to Danny Woodhead's 15 carries. Woodhead had just 34 yards on those 15 carries, an average of 2.3 yards per carry. Ridley wasn't much better at 37 yards (2.8 yards per carry). The team's newly-vaunted running game may be short-lived.
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<strong>Wes Welker's role</strong>
This was <em>the</em> story last week. Can we put it to bed? Welker had 8 receptions for 142 yards Sunday, leading all Patriots wide receivers in snaps. Julian Edelman had four catches and the team's only receiving touchdown.
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<strong>Aaron Hernandez's injury</strong>
Formerly a big part of the passing game, tight end Aaron Hernandez missed the first of what is likely to be many games for the Patriots. In his absence, Rob Gronkowski was noticeably absent in the passing game (2 receptions, 21 yards), despite playing all 82 snaps. The Patriots had Gronkowski at the end of the line often as a blocker, but that seems like a waste for arguably the best tight end in the world.
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<strong>Health of the offensive line</strong>
Dan Connolly and Logan Mankins were both listed on New England's injury report last week, but both players were active Sunday. That was good news, as was the play of Sebastian Vollmer, who has a notoriously difficult time staying on the field. Brian Waters doesn't look like he's walking through that door anytime soon, so the Patriots need the rest of their unit to stay healthy. Tom Brady was sacked twice by the Ravens.
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AP

<strong>Falling behind in the standings</strong>
The Patriots currently trail both the Jets and Dolphins in the AFC East. That should change as New England has a chance to control its own destiny by playing both of those teams twice. The Houston Texans, however, are 3-0 in the AFC South and already possess a two-game lead over New England. The Patriots can't afford to dig too much of a hole for themselves early in the season if they want a chance at home-field advantage in the playoffs.
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